


Armed and Dangerous

by cyndario



Series: Shudun Ryder | Seasons Change [2]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Flustered Ryder, Humor, Shudun had every intention of fussing, but then he opened his mouth, harmless flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-22 22:07:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10706112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyndario/pseuds/cyndario
Summary: Is he actually going todosomething, though?





	Armed and Dangerous

Shudun had had enough. 

 

Here she was, driving up and down and all around Eos trying to take down the kett presence on the planet and this man wasn’t doing  _ anything  _ to help. And he called himself a damn 'kett hunter'.

 

Sure he’d showed off that first meeting by sitting in a room full of dead kett, but what has he done  _ since _ ?  
Absolutely nothing, Shudun reasoned. And that’s why the two of them were going to have words. 

 

The building he usually holed up in was fast approaching, the still burning kett cruiser to the left of it her identifier. Swerving violently to park, Shudun let the others--Drack and Cora--know that they could just wait for her in the Nomad as she wouldn’t be more than five minutes. Cora, of course, insisted on at least waiting by the door but Drack talked her out of it. Shudun shot him a smile as she hopped out the driver’s seat, closing the door behind her and jogging up the rampart. 

 

Bain Massani was about to get a piece of her mind because Shudun was  _ not  _ about to continue driving in goddamn circles all day in this heat looking for kett (who honestly just seemed to be multiplying at this point) and an entryway to that  _ damn  _ fortress if he wasn’t gonna lift a finger to help.

 

She disengaged the lock with her omni-tool and took a step inside, shoulders squared and face set. He was gonna get it now.  

 

“Little duck. Always good to see you.” 

 

Shudun had barely stepped through the threshold of that abandoned kett building before Bain’s words resonated in her ears. Repressing the urge to shiver at his voice, remembering why she had made the pitstop in the first place. 

 

Stepping closer, she crossed her arms over her armored torso and fixed the middle aged man before her with a serious stare. Bain fought the urge to smile at her scowl and motioned with a nod of his head for her to speak. 

 

“What can I do for you?” He asked lightly, resuming work on his omni-tool. 

 

“Are you actually going to _ help me  _ drive the kett off Eos or are you just gonna sit… in here… with these rotting bodies?” Shudun gave a quick glance around the place and noted that the green blood of the fallen kett had dried and stained the floor beneath their feet, the splotches darkened black. The stench of their rotting corpses was being vented out by the openings in the ceiling, but it could only do so much. 

 

He could at least throw them outside. 

 

“I plan on assisting you. Provided you cripple the kett like I suggested first. No point in rushing towards that fortress unprepared.” He reasoned, powering his omni-tool down so he could give her his proper attention. He noticed that she had a hard time looking him in the face and decided to mess with her a bit more. 

 

Taking a precursor step forward, he watched as she became rooted to the spot, her eyes widening. Three more steps was all it took before Bain was right in front of her, leaning down a bit to speak in her ear. 

 

“I’ll be there when you need me, Ryder. Does that answer your question?” 

 

He could have swore he heard her gulp, watching as her mouth parted to release a soft exhale. 

 

“Y-yeah, that’s fine.” 

 

Standing to his full height, Bain offered her a sly grin as he headed towards one of the kett bodies lying around. Was he finally going to dispose of the bodies? One could only hope. 

 

“Contact me when you’ve managed to cripple that force field. I’ll be there to help you take on Invictor.” Bain assured her, bending down to grasp the ankle of a fallen kett. He moved towards the secondary door, opening it to the Eos sun. With his back turned towards her, Shudun took her chance. Nodding silently in agreement, Shudun turned and made a beeline straight for the door. The others were still waiting for her inside the Nomad and she suddenly  _ really _ needed fresh air. 

 

“Oh, and little duck?” 

 

Shudun nearly jumped as she offered up an unintelligible mumble, turning slightly to regard him over her shoulder. 

 

“Do be careful.” 

 

“Yup. You too.” She rushed out, opening the door quickly and dashing out into the bright midday sun. Bain’s laugh was soft as it followed after her, the resounding click of the doors finally closing the only thing cutting the sound short. 

 

These people in Andromeda with their nice voices were going to be the death of her. 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so to be fair I haven't _actually_ beaten this quest (I'm lost on where to go don't laugh) but _if_ Bain was serious about being the big bad kett hunter he claims to be I doubt he'd sit on the sidelines and let Shudun do all the work on taking Invictor down. 
> 
> And no, I'm not shipping them together. But I do like his voice and Shudun would too, so y'know, this happened. 
> 
> (...I'll see myself out to my designated dumpster, thanks.)


End file.
